String Quartet
by xkaiistarx
Summary: Because in the end, love is still love. / Viola hums and cello sings while violin croons and bass sighs. / The strings vibrate, spanning webs that spin and intersect, creating the World. Four het pairs.


_Agápe (unconditional love)_

 _..._

He would do anything to protect her, the queen that sits on the iron throne with a gaze as cold as ice, she who only stares at him with silent necessity whenever an order is needed to be carried out. She does not need him, that much he understands. She is strong, and more than capable of doing things herself. But still he stands by her side as she dispatches orders and sees to foreign dignitaries, because that was his duty.

In truth (how ironic) that was not the case (and he knows it better than anyone else). He knows what he wants, wishes from her. Pity, because a queen has only so much to give, and he was never part of the equation to start with.

 _Always obligation and never gratitude._ (He wishes it could be different. But knights live only to serve and not to wish.) It would have gone on forever, this unrequited devotion for his queen. But then she came, and all he knows starts to fall apart.

A silent hunter with eyes of gold who has come from far to pled help for her homeland. She, he finds, was a kindred spirit; they share devotion to different things, be it a liege or a home. During her brief stay they bump and converse often; he under orders and she filled with suspicion. But somewhere something unexpected happens, and the day the queen with the icy gaze relays him instruction he finds his chest twisting with discomfort as he approaches the waiting hunter by their usual spot.

"I wished things could have been different." She looks at him when he finishes, golden eyes gleaming with something sad and for the life of him Toris cannot answer, for what can he say? He belongs here, but a part of him belongs _here_ , hidden in the gardens and talking with her, listening to the stranger who has brought him so much insight and shook apart his lifelong belief, who he feels a connection for.

But he is still a knight, and she has a duty to fulfil, and so as she leaves one fine spring day to resume a journey for help, he bids her farewell and watches as the world turns without him, spring turning time and taking her away from him.

He is forever bound to his queen, but for the first time in his life Toris wishes a _what if._

* * *

 _Storgē (affection; fondness through familiarity, love brought by chance)_

 _..._

They spin within the great halls of his manor. Pass the great corridor and up the grand staircase, within rooms gaudily covered with marble and velvet curtains. The drapes are wide open this time of the year, showing a beautiful view of the gardens. Flowers bloom where warmth melts frost, and multicoloured seas of proud roses and carnations glimmer with morning dew.

The air is sweet smelling, and he does not object when she looks at him with that equally sweet smile of hers and asks if they could open the windows for the fresh breeze to enter. Fragrant fresh air mixes with melodious Strauss and calming Mozart, creating a heady scent and atmosphere unlike any other. It was enthralling.

It was uncharacteristic of him, he thinks of himself as he grabs her hand and she spins them in a fast-paced rendition of a broken waltz. It was certainly not proper, but he finds it does not bother him as much as he thought it would when they abandon waltzing completely to spin around in fast, haphazard circles. This was something Gilbert would do, not him. But even he cannot help the smile that reaches his face and amend himself to her wishes as she starts to laugh; a laugh that was the complete opposite of the epitome that she was.

For wasn't she grace and a quiet sweetness and not uncontrolled laughter and happiness that can blind? Perhaps he had been wrong all this time. (The urge of wanting to know more about her true self almost overwhelms him right there.)

They spin within the great halls of his manor, and Roderich feels a wave of affection for the smaller lady whom his hands interlace.

* * *

 _Éros (romance)_

 _..._

He has not stopped poking her since she refused to kiss him ten minutes ago. Mei thinks his attempt at showing his unhappiness would have been endearing had it not gotten stale after the first three minutes. Shifting into a more comfortable position on the sofa, she batted an eye playfully at the silver hair boy beside her. Her teeth absentmindedly played with the Pocky stick in her mouth as she lifted a hand to push away the finger that aimed for her cheek.

Emil huffs at the blocked contact, disgruntled but undeterred. Pale fingers drop down her arm instead, brushing the underside of her sensitive wrist, making Mei fidget at the ticklish sensation before poking her in the arm. His head was lowered to stare at his lap, but the slight pink streak painted across his cheek was undeniable.

It would be so easy to just tell him how cute he looked right now, but she won't, sluggish as she is now. Autumn has left her too lazy to move, much less reciprocate the actions of her boyfriend. _Boyfriend_ ; the word still fills her with joyful giddiness even though they had been together for so long. Unbeknownst to her, her mouth stretches to form a grin, one that he notices.

"What are you smiling about?" Finally sick of the silence, the boy answers first. Mei giggles softly at the barely concealed curiosity in his tone, dropping her hand to land on his. She tells him, taking care to sound as cheesy as possible as she watches the red flare deeper into his skin. With an embarrassed puff of air Emil lunges forward, hands spread flat on the sofa as he hovered over her, biting off the remainder of half eaten Pocky stick in her mouth. His dry lips press lightly against her softer ones and this time Mei is the one who lets out a sound.

He parts from her with a soft smack, pursed lips relaxing as he chews on the chocolate biscuit. He is smiling, obviously pleased even with red still evident on his cheeks. "You talk too much." Emil utters and Mei can't help but laugh breathily, her face a similar shade to his.

* * *

 _Philía (true friendship, brotherly love, love between equals)_

 _..._

"They were belittling me again."

The words were uttered quietly, and immediately Berwald frowns, turning his face to his left and looking at the woman walking beside him. There was a disheartened expression on her face, and he notes with growing dismay that the tight grip on her battleaxe had turned her knuckles white. Her eyes were dim. He stops moving.

With growing confusion his companion halts as well, her eyes widening in surprise as he grabbed her free hand and veered them both off the dirt track leading to the next town over. Berwald blocks out any protest, grunting at words he did not bother to take in as he tug her gently through the snow covered field. They have not taken at least ten strides from the road before the suspiciously tall and thick bush in front of them shivers. With a strangled growl two multicoloured lizardriod creatures jump out from within, baring sharp teeth and convulsing eyeballs at the two.

With a gentle push his partner was made to face the two monsters as he took a step back. Katya tilts her head back at him in a split second of exasperation before she darts forwards, mauling the creatures dead with one strike before they could take a step or spray their fatal acid. The bush rustles louder, and Berwald watches without comment as Katya proceeds to destroy the horde of lizardriod creatures one after the other with much more power and strength in her swings then necessary.

Delivering a swift jab into the twenty-first one, she brings her halberd down on its head. With a sickening crunch the creature went limp before breaking into dissolving shards as a small gem took its place. Picking it up, she turns back to him, a lighter smile tinted with slight annoyance on her face as she noticed the pile of gems in his cupped hands he had helped picked up.

"What was that for?" Immediately after placing the gems in her travel pack she looks up at him with raised eyebrows, unmindful of the way his stony eyes were giving her cloaked body a once over.

"Those were elite monsters you fought alone, and you have not broken a sweat. You don't even have a single scratch on you."

"Yes? Berwald I don't understand."

"They are wrong." His eyes fixed her with so much intensity and sincerity it was hard look away. "They are the ones who should be underestimating you."

The field is silent for a moment, and Berwald fears he might have taken this consoling thing the wrong way. (He was awkward enough as it is - no matter how Katya thought otherwise -, why do something that would unnerve her more even if it was a way for her to vent?) Watching a genuine smile grace the lips of the woman before him though brings him a semblance of relief.

"Thank you." She looks up at him, significantly more at ease than before, and Berwald finds himself mirroring the curve of her lips with a small awkward one of his own, previous concern ebbing away as his heart settles peacefully.

* * *

A/N

For a friend's birthday.

APH Greece was my muse for this. (Seems rightfully so too.) This was surprisingly a lot of fun to write (besides the rushing lol 2 days but this wasn't the worse I have had). AUs, AUs everywhere. I need to relearn how to write a fic or drabble in canon immortal country verse again orz.

So, the four types of love together with the four seasons. I wanted to incorporate a bit of musical instruments into each drabble too, but as you can see I failed because other ideas caught on. The drabbles might overlap one another in terms of what kind of love, but I tried my best to make the main one stand out. (It was so hard and I got confused halfway through I think I screwed up ehh.)

The relationships in the drabbles can be interpret any way you like due to the overlap. (Except for Éros because that is the romantic love and there's a kiss right there.) Storgē, for one, could be parental or familial love or romantic as people who have found themselves together by chance are under this category too. So just choose whatever type of AusLiech you like. This goes for SweUkr too.

In order of pairings, (Belarus?)/Lithuania/Vietnam, Austria/Liechtenstein, Iceland/Taiwan and Sweden/Ukraine. I'm experimenting with some new ship dynamics here. That said LietViet (whoa that rhymes) and SweUkr I do ship.

That IceTai though. B)


End file.
